This invention relates to hair wrapping apparatus, and more particularly to mechanized hair wrapping apparatus that wraps strands of human hair with decorative string or artificial hair.
Hair wrapping and hair braiding is an ancient art. Even today it is usually practiced by hand. Some modem hair styles rely on weaving small braids over the entire scalp and thus require considerable time and labor. The art of wrapping hair strands with string also requires much time and labor.
Hair wrapping is accomplished by combing out strands of hair having diameters typically between a few millimeters to a centimeter. The operator then wraps a length of string along the strand. Usually the string will be brightly colored. The wrap may be a tight coil, or a looser more open wrap. The operator may go down the strand with the string and back up, creating a criss-cross effect. Many variations are possible. It is also possible to wrap strands of artificial hair, which are then braided into the natural hair.
The prior art discloses inventions directed to mechanizing the task of hair wrapping. Prior-art mechanized wrappers have problems with maintaining a smooth wrap along the hair strand. This is caused in turn by uneven playing-out of the string and by movement of the strand relative to the rotational axis of the wrapping device. The latter effect requires the operator to exercise great care in holding the device in the correct position. The present invention solves these problems, while also being easy to manufacture.
The preferred embodiment of the invention is an apparatus that comprises a circular shell that defines an axle. The axle has a central opening for the passage of a strand of hair to be wrapped.
A reversible DC motor is mounted in a handle attached to the shell. The motor drives a pinion gear about an axis that is perpendicular to the axis of the axle. A drive wheel is rotatably fitted over the axle. The drive wheel has a ring gear engaging the pinion gear. The drive wheel also has one or more axial slots for engaging a guide wheel.
A retaining ring is mounted over the drive wheel and the axle; the retaining ring has a circumferential hole that allows a friction wheel to project through it. A spring urges the friction wheel against the drive wheel. In the preferred embodiment, the friction wheel and spring are mounted in the handle, adjacent to the shell.
A spool for holding string for wrapping hair strands is rotatably fitted over the axle and the retaining ring. The spool can rotate freely about the axle as string is played out from it.
A guide wheel that has one or more axial lugs and a flange is rotatably fitted on the axle and over the spool so that the lugs engage the slots on the drive wheel. The flange of the guide wheel has a plurality of circumferential notches for engaging and playing out the string.
A centralizer is fitted over the shell and over the guide wheel for maintaining a hair strand substantially central within the central opening of the axle. In the preferred embodiment the centralizer further comprises a flexible membrane. The flexible membrane has a central hole for passage of the hair strand through it.